Mcintosh MA8900 - towards audio simplification

Turntables from ₹16,900.00
I have now added an Ultrarendu feeding the Mcintosh' built in DA1 DAC module via an AudioQuest Carbon USB cable & AudioQuest Cinammon ethernet cable.
This is the best sound I have heard till now - auditions or at my place. Its so detailed yet fatigue free, the vocals which have always been outstanding seem to have taken a physical presence & the bass is tight and punchy.
The Ultrarendu is very good synergy with the rest of my system.

I had earlier almost written off the built in DAC in the Mcintosh, looks like I was wrong.
I guess, it needed a very clean source like the Ultrarendu to perform to its full potential.
 
My rig is more or less set now. I am throughly enjoying the very pleasing sound.
Just for fun, my friend brought over his Peachtree Nova300 to compare with the Mcintosh. The rest of the chain was Roon Core running on a 2012 Mac mini-> Ultrarendu -> Mcintosh 8900' DAC -> Kef Reference 1s.

We switched between the Peachtree Nova300 & the Mcintosh, doing several A/Bs/
Straight off the bat, the difference in sound was easily apparent. The Mcintosh was way more resolving with smoother highs, it dug out a lot of details that weren't coming through the Peachtree. The midrange was both lusher & more human like on the Mcintosh, the bass was more or less the same - the bass of the Peachtree being a little more drier.
This apart, the Mcintosh had a more forward sound, like the singer was pushed closer towards me & a holographic soundstage of the accompanying instruments. It was like music had a lot more color & character through the Mcintosh

This is obviously not a fair comparison, as the Mcintosh is in a different price class & a few times more expensive than the Peachtree.
All in all, the Peachtree Nova300 was a solid performer as well, after a while we just let it play and enjoyed the foot tapping sound & a fun evening.

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Great Rajesh, i have this doubt for a long while that a television in a stereo listening room. Does a tv in a stereo room affect center focus and image? I have my front wall treated for better imaging so asking this question.
 
With the lock-down, ive had more time for the audio hobby.
I did some tweaking to my set-up,
a. Got a LPS for the Ultrarendu
b. Positioning the distance of the speakers from the walls & from each other. (this took a measuring tape & a lot of time)
The results i've got are not trivial, the highs are snappy & crisp, to use the audiophile term - airier. The bass is extremely controlled, starts and stops on a dime with no overhang or bloat.


I am not sure whether it was the LPS or Speaker positioning which made the bigger difference, but im very happy with the results. IMG_1753.jpeg
IMG_1766.jpeg
 
great that you are updating this thread ! from your photos it appears that your right speaker is closer to you than the left...is that due to the perspective of the photo ?
 
@arj its the photo perspective for sure, and where i took the photo from.
I will be very upset, if that were the case, after the countless hours with the measuring tape....hahaha
 
A friend was keen to acquire a Tube integrated. During one of the auditions, we had the opportunity to listen to the Rockna Wavedream Signature R2R DAC - it was a truly natural sound, unlike any digital sound we had heard before.

This piqued my curiosity in R2R DACs, i signed up for the home audition tour of the Denafrips Ares II.
I did not expect much, and meant for it, to dip my toes in the R2R DAC kool aid - But i came out a believer :D

The Aries II is an outstanding DAC.With the Aries II, it feels like the music envelops you. The details are all there, but it somehow sounds warmer than the built in DAC in my McIntosh. Perhaps that is what they call "Digital glare" of Delta Sigma DACs.
It also has that ability to make voices sound natural. it is a tone & sound stage champ.

Impressions out of the box, was not noteworthy - Everything sounded fuzzy/small/bright. I wondered what the buzz was all about. The rep advised leaving it on for a full day at-least, before critical listening.The sound improved after that.
Apart from the sound-stage & mid range tone highlights, the Aries II gives one the ability to focus on a particular instrument and follow it through the song. It is a warm sounding, yet detailed DAC.
At the end of the audition period, i have come to the conclusion that R2R DACs in general & Denafrips/Aries II is special.

The Aries II has some limitations, which perhaps can be overcome by moving up the Denafrips product line.
1. The extreme Highs and lows seem rounded off.
2. With fast paced music with many instruments, the Aries II loses coherence and could not keep up. The built-in DAC in my integrated was able to hold it better (Standard fare heavy metal circa - Metallica, Motorhead, Massive Attack & some fast EDM.,)
3. It seems extremely sensitive to Vibrations & Power cords (not exactly a limitation, but one should factor money for these)

IMG_4962.jpeg

IMG_4953.jpegIMG_4963.jpeg
 
Rajeshh said:
A friend was keen to acquire a Tube integrated. During one of the auditions, we had the opportunity to listen to the Rockna Wavedream Signature R2R DAC - it was a truly natural sound, unlike any digital sound we had heard before.

This piqued my curiosity in R2R DACs, i signed up for the home audition tour of the Denafrips Ares II.
I did not expect much, and meant for it, to dip my toes in the R2R DAC kool aid - But i came out a believer :D

The Aries II is an outstanding DAC.With the Aries II, it feels like the music envelops you. The details are all there, but it somehow sounds warmer than the built in DAC in my McIntosh. Perhaps that is what they call "Digital glare" of Delta Sigma DACs.
It also has that ability to make voices sound natural. it is a tone & sound stage champ.

Impressions out of the box, was not noteworthy - Everything sounded fuzzy/small/bright. I wondered what the buzz was all about. The rep advised leaving it on for a full day at-least, before critical listening.The sound improved after that.
Apart from the sound-stage & mid range tone highlights, the Aries II gives one the ability to focus on a particular instrument and follow it through the song. It is a warm sounding, yet detailed DAC.
At the end of the audition period, i have come to the conclusion that R2R DACs in general & Denafrips/Aries II is special.

The Aries II has some limitations, which perhaps can be overcome by moving up the Denafrips product line.
1. The extreme Highs and lows seem rounded off.
2. With fast paced music with many instruments, the Aries II loses coherence and could not keep up. The built-in DAC in my integrated was able to hold it better (Standard fare heavy metal circa - Metallica, Motorhead, Massive Attack & some fast EDM.,)
3. It seems extremely sensitive to Vibrations & Power cords (not exactly a limitation, but one should factor money for these)

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Click to expand...
Glad that you finally decided to give it a try.
Your Experience mirrors my experience with ares2 very precisely. Awesome Tonality and Soundstage with well spread details to put it in one sentence. I'll be upgrading to a higher end Denafrips Sooner. Thanks for sharing.
 
@oldmonk Hahaha...that was the intention 3 years ago. It may not last long.
In our hobby, once we hear something that we really enjoy, the rabbit hole begins :D
But, i'm determined to keep the audio set-up a part of the living room, so - as aesthetically clean as possible.
 
Added this Furutec power cord (with Gold connectors) to power the Mcintosh from the IsoTek Evo3 Aquarius.

I feel it has made some positive changes to the sound - pushed the soundstage a bit forward, tighter bass/speed & a slightly more open sound.

Cheers
Rajesh
 

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Rajeshh said:
I was planning an upgrade on my amplification the last couple of months, moving up from the fantastic Wyred4sound MPre & MAmps i wanted to make sure that i have amplification that works well with everything i listen to, meaning not just vocals/jazz/80' but also modern fast paced tracks like Massive Attack, Radiohead & Kendrich Lamar. This is something that the Wyred excels at.
But with the Wyred i was running 5 boxes, 3 for line stage amplification, a separate phono & another Music server, add my Mac Mini, the Apple TV & all the power chords, interconnects & conditioners involved it was getting a bit much. I really wanted a one box solution that ticked all my boxes. Music & movies included.

With this in mind, i began the audition rounds, the fun part of the buying process.
I was fascinated by tubes & went to audition the Mcintosh MC275 + C22 (Not exactly one box) but in my opinion the best looking audio gear with attitude. I have never heard vocals so good, it was spooky. Unfortunately it just could not handle fast paced tracks. The next in line was a Line Magnetic Audio LM-518IA
& the Leben CS-600 with Harbeth Super HL5plus, I had similar results with all of them.
The Leben was really exceptional in its vocal abilities, but until i can afford to have a dedicated cigar room to play just jazz & vocals, tubes are not going to work for me.

Next up was solid state amplifier auditions, i auditioned the Ayre AX-5, Devialet Pro220, Mark Levinson N585, Accuphase E470 & E650, Mcintosh MA5300 & T+A PA 3100HV.
The stand out was the T+A PA 3100HV, a truly extraordinary amplifier, paired with a Revel Ultima2 in a well treated room, it is one of the best sound i've heard. The kind that grabbed you by the collar and forces you to pay attention. Unfortunately it was way out of my budget.

I also really liked the Mcintosh & the Accuphase E650., the Mcintosh dealer at this point invited me to an extended audition of the MA8900, it was delightful experience, a slight warmth in the midrange because of the Autoformers, with all the transparency & details of the Accuphase. As a bonus, the included modular DAC the new DA1 is on par or better than standalone DACs such as Mytek Brooklyn+ DAC which ive used.
I found that the Accuphase was perhaps even more transparent, which may or may not be a good thing for my tastes, it sounded brilliant on Vinyl but a bit fatiguing & unforgiving on some digital tracks though an Accuphase CD Transport+DAC.
For a while, i was quite confused between the Mcintosh MA8900 & the Accuphase E650, but in the end after multiple auditions & considering a few factors such as ease of use, resale value, etc., (subjective tastes & looks included) chose the Mcintosh.

Here are some pics, ive gotta say that the blue meters are mesmerising too :)

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Congratulations !!! super line up. Enjoy the music :)
 
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